Mary Lou Sanelli is the author of 14 books of nonfiction, fiction, memoir, poetry, and a children’s title. Her newest title, In So Many Words: Three Years, Two Months, One Me, was nominated for a 2025 Pacific Northwest Book Award and a 2025 Washington State Book Award.

In this new collection of essays about living in the Northwest, Sanelli gives voice to the exquisite nuances of day-to-day life, as well as larger struggles we face, while always managing to leave us feeling less worried, certainly less alone, and much more hopeful. These relevant and frequently funny essays remind us that the simple act of paying attention to what happens around us (maybe put your phone down and look up?) can make a profound difference in how we view the world and ourselves. Sanelli has spent much of her writing career emphasizing what she believes-has always believed-that the most personal is the most universal. She writes on the basis of that. But even at her most serious, she never takes herself too seriously and what remains for the reader are insightful gems that shine light into the dark, as touching as they are wise.

Sanelli is also is a columnist, speaker and master dance teacher. She and her husband live on Bainbridge Island. For information, visit www.marylousanelli.com.